Gas engine



. P. SORRIC-EUIETA GAS ENGINE Filed June 8, 1918 5 sheets-sheet l Patented Mar. 27, 1923.v

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PEDRO sonnIGUIErA, or BrLiAo, sPArN.

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' 'Application'led'lune 8,`

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Be it knownJ that I, PEDRO SORRIGUTLETA, a s'ubjectof the King lof Spain, residing at Bilbao,- in the'Province of Vizcaya,'Spain, have'invented certain new and usefuly Improvements inGas Engines, of which the followingl is a specification. This invention relates' tointernal com-V bustionor gas engines and more particularly to the tw'c'i-'cyele'opposedy cylinder type of engine particularly adapted for use on aeroplanes, although itis, of course to be understood that many *of the features are appli cableto other uses. Y. a One of the objects ofthe present invention yis to providea simple land practicable gas engine 4of the abovey general type capable. ofhigh"efficiency. 11. Y

" Afurtherobjectis :to providev an engine oftheabove general *character adapted "to" give the high speed and high power necessary for aeroplane use and at the same timefbe relatively lig'htin1 weight, 'yet durable and fully capable'of'withstanding the strains to which itis subjected. Y f

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in vconnection therewith by they following analysis ofthis invention.

This inventionaecordingly consists in the features offconstruction, combination of partsv and in thetunique` yrelations of the members vand infthe relative proportioning and` disposition thereof; all asl mo'revco'mpletelyfoutlined herein. Y y' Y To enable others skilled. inthe art so fully to. comprehend the underlying vfeatures thereofthat they may embody the same by the numerous modifications in structure and 40 relation lcontemplated byl this invention, drawings depicting `a preferred formv have been annexedY as a part of thisdisclosure, and in Isuch drawings, like characters of reference denote corresponding'parts throughout all the view's,'of which y AFigure 1' s `a partial transverse section andpartialfend viewof suchparts of the engine as are necessary to` fully understand its constructionand operation.v v

Figurel 2 isa partial planpviewand horizontal sectional Vview of one ofthe units of whichrthe engines composed taken sub- 191s. serial No. 238,972.

stantially on line 2 2, Figurel, but` Referring now tothe drawings in'deta'il` and more particularly to 'Figfy -'f'ldenotes-l the'engine frame from eachside of 'which extends a plurality of cylinders 6,"in` the present case four, on each side of the crank vcase'. These cylinders are provided with pistons 7 connected by means of piston rod 8 with ya central longitudinally y disposed lcrank shaft l0. This shaft is, of course, provided -lwith eight turns or elbows and the piston rods 8 of each ltransverse pair ofl cylinders are connected therewith 'at substantially 180. It will also be notedj on reference to Fig. 2, that the cylinders'of each pair are slightlyy oii'setwithrespect to each other permittingthe piston rods 8 to be connected with the shaftlO in a straight line, thereby avoiding a loss of efficiency due to a bentl or angularly disposed'piston. Positioned above the crank case and preferably'forming a part thereof is van auXili-' ary camshaft case 11 provided with a shaft 12 carrying cams 13 and 14, Fig. 2, for actu#l ating the intake and yexhaustvalves 'of the cylinders at the proper'time. This shaft isy rotated'by meansof a train of gears 15,16

and 17 l connectedl with the main j crank` shaft'lO. f A magneto' is indicated at 18 whichis connected'with spark plugs 20 in any desired manner. Suitable water and lubricating pumps, not shown, are provided as mayV be necessary' for securing the proper Acooling of the cylindersy and lubrication of the mov-A able parts. These, howeven'formno vspecial part of the present `invention and for clearness, theirr disclosure has been omitted.

For the sake of lightness, the main crank casing 5 and associated parts are made of aluminum, and as indicated in .F ig. 2, said casing is divided transversely into sectionsv or sol units of two cylinders each to lprovide a small compact compression chamber, that is, the interior of the `crank case, *for the opposed' cylinders.'

y These-cylinders are partially constituted by the crank ease, while theremainingporioo tion 21 is of copper surrounded 'by a steel water jacket 22, the space between constituting a water chamber which is connected by means of nipples 23 with any suitable form of circulating system. Copper is particularly adapted for construction of this kind owing to the ease and rapidity with which it radiates the heat generated by the explosive mixture.

The inner end of each cylinder is provided with oppositely disposed tubes or passageways 24 communicating with the interior of the crank case and the interior of the cylinder when the piston isl on its end stroke as shown at the left of Fig. 1. This piston is preferably made of vtwo parts, that is, the piston head 7 and an auxiliary guide member 25 riveted thereto. The usual transverse pin 30 is provided to form one support of the piston rod 8, the opposite end of which is connected with the crank shaft 10. This rod may also be made of aluminum and rela tively large in order to reduce the space in the compression chamber. A deilector 31 is provided at one side on the head of the piston for directing the inrushing compressed charge towards the head of the cylinder thereby to` eject vmore efficiently the products of combustion of the previous charge. These exhaust gases are forced past a valve 32 which is actuated or opened by mechanism actuated by the cam 14.

This mechanism comprises a rod 33 having a roller engagement with the cam, said rod being mounted in a suitable bearing and having a universal connection 35 with the diagonally disposed rod 36 connected at its opposite end with rocker arm 37 pivoted on stud 38. The opposite end of this rocker arm engages the stem 40 of the valve 32 and urges the stem inwardly against the action of spiral spring 41. The products of combustion after passing throughthe valve 32 are conducted to the exhaust mufller, not shown, through a pipe 42 leading from each cylinder head.

The same cam shaft 12 is provided also with a plurality of cams 13 eachvadapted to actuate a rod 43 through roller contact, the rod` passing through a bearing 44 and connected at its free end with a rocker arm 45 pivoted on a boss at 4G. The opposite end of this rocker arm 45 coacts with a stem 47 of a valve 48 normally held in closed position by means of spring 50 within the compression chamber. This valve 48 is adapted to close the inlet to the crank case yfrom any suitableA source of supply, indicated by the intake manifold 51, which in turn communicates with pipes 52, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

The operation of the engine is substantially as follows:

Assuming the engine to be in position shown inFig.- 1, the previously compressed charge of gas in the crank casing passes through the passageways or ports 24 into the interior or head of the cylinder where it drives out the previous products of combustion through the open valve 32. As the shaft 10 rotates the piston will movel outwardly to further compress this charge of gas and on the completion of the stroke the charge will`l be ignited by means of spark plug 20 to again return the piston to the position shown in this figure. In the meantime, however, the gearing between the main crank shaft. 1() and cam shaft 12 will have rotated the. latter to bring the cams 13 and 14 into. such proper relative: position as to close the exhaust valveV and open the inlet valve 48 at the proper time to allow a further supply 0f the combustible: mixture to pass into the crank case. for com.- pression on the working` stroke ofthe piston..

It will thus be seen that the present in'- vention provides a simple and practicable two-cycle opposed cylinder engine particu- ,4

larly adaptedfor aeroplane use owing to` its simplicity of construction., lightness. of ma,- terial and compact arrangement of working parts.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist; of this invention that others canv by applying current knowledge readily adapt itfor various. ap,..- plications without omitting certain. features that, from they standpoint of the prior art fairly constitute. essential: characteristics of the generic or specificaspects of. this invention, and therefore suchadaptations should and are intended to becomplehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of, the following claims. l i

I claim:

1. ln. a gas,engine,.tl`1.e combination` ofla pair of opposed cylinders; a., central: eran-k shaft; pistons in the cylinders. connected by piston rods with said shaft; a crank case enclosing said shaftandpiston rods and forming a compression chamber, the wallol. each cylinder havingy passa es which lead into the cylinder from said c amber and the Y i by piston rods with said, shaft; a crank case enclosing said shaftand. piston rods and forming a compression chamber which` isA in piston-controlled, port lcormnunicationY with both cylinders; an exhaust valve for each cylinder; a single inlet valve for both cylinders associatedwith said chamber; andioperating cams for said valves.`

3. ln a gas engine, the combination of a V1,449,560 l l, o '3y pair of opposed cylinders; a central crank ating canas for said valves mounted o-n al l0 shaft; pistons in the cylinders connected by common support which is driven by said n piston rods with said shaft; a crank case shaft.

enclosing said shaft and rpiston rods and `In testimony whereof I aiir my signature 'i Y 5 forming a compression chamber which is in in the presence of two Witnesses. l piston-controlled, port communication with PEDRO SORRIGrUIE'lA.v .both cylinders; an exhaust valve for each l Witnessesr l f v cylinder; a single inlet valve for both cylin- ANGEL Vflisounnno, y n ders associated with said chamber; and oper- C. INNEss BROWN. y 

